Cloud Mountain Farm Center is a 45-acre working farm committed to operating as a living laboratory, training new crop and nursery farmers, and expanding educational workshops for home gardeners and commercial farmers. Programming at the Farm Center fosters research and the development of diverse and collaborative market strategies for a more stable food system.

Internship Description:

The Farm Center is a long-standing working farm with an integrated educational curriculum and work-based learning program. This program gives interns a hands-on, farm-based experience in agricultural production and management as well as a solid understanding of the big picture challenges that affect NW agriculture and the communities it serves. Interns at the Farm Center will join the staff for forty hours a week to learn all aspects of planning, production, marketing and environmental stewardship. Interns will be paid for thirty-two hours for their time contributing to the daily operation of Cloud Mountain. The other eight hours per week will be spent learning, both indoors and outdoors, in discussions and in direct activities focused on specific topics as outlined in a syllabus. Activities will include some weekend Cloud Mountain workshops, held both on and off site.

It is important to be aware that Cloud Mountain Farm Center is a highly complex and productive working farm, and that the educational hours will be, as much as possible, integrated into the work week. Depending on production needs, some weeks might be less than eight hours and other weeks greater than eight hours. The educational sessions will use a diversity of formats:

presentation-based, discussion-based, and hands-on demonstrations and experiential activities. Interns accepted into the program will be asked to read selected books and articles, complete exercises, and invited to give short presentations on specific topics.

The eight-month, full-time, paid internship program is now accepting applications for 2014. A commitment to the full eight months is a requirement; however, if an applicant has a scheduling conflict, we will work to coordinate schedules if possible.

Application Materials and Timelines:

The 2014 Internship Program will run from February 3rd through October 8th.

Tuition for the Program is $3000. Interns are paid hourly WA state minimum wage (currently $9.19) for 32 hours of their 40-hour-per-week commitment.

Scholarships

There are limited scholarships available. If interested, please request a scholarship application form.

Program Goals -To provide a hands-on learning environment for new farmers to build a skill set that will improve their knowledge, understanding and opportunities in sustainable agriculture.

Essential Skills Topics - The Internship Program will instill essential skills needed for success in farming. Our curriculum below outlines those areas that interns will learn about to ensure that they gain the foundation of an agricultural education.

how to be an employer, labor & industries, unemployment, tracking labor costs

8) Agricultural Issues, including --

Whatcom Country agriculture, development of sustainable agriculture in the Pacific Northwest, history of US agriculture, US Farm Bill, issues in world agriculture, labor rights

9) Additional topics, including --

In 2013, Field Trips and Guest Speakers during the program introduced such additional topics as animal husbandry, seed saving, egg production, grain production, mushroom production, value-added products, permaculture, biodynamic farming, foraging, and farmer-networking. These topics will vary by year, as they will depend on scheduling and interests.

Our curriculum-based internship program is designed to provide hands-on, farm- based education to guide the next generation of farmers. Our program works because all participants leave with a well-rounded foundation of skills that are pre-requisites for success in the business and practice of farming. At Cloud Mountain, interns learn through hands-on work experience, participating in farm-based research projects, making presentations, attending and participating in workshops and educating others.

Program Dates: February 3rd – October 8th, 2014

To receive an application packet, or if you have additional questions, please contact us: